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day 62
The extra-long red Arborite table in the kitchen of the Art Motel was strewn with newspapers and DVDs. The bison hair capelet Rebecca was to wear at Stacey and Jimbeau’s multi-disciplinary performance was draped over one of the vinyl chairs. Stacey and Jimbeau were arguing, but stopped when Rebecca and Devin entered the room. Rebecca paced around the table, examining the materials. She picked up a DVD labeled “Halfsquatch – CNN,” then set it down. She held up a copy of the Whitehorse Reporter, the one with the HALFSQUATCH HIDEOUT headline. “Can I have this?" “Yeah, sure,” Stacey said nervously. “Thanks.” Rebecca turned and made her way towards the door. “Rebecca, wait!” Jimbeau called after her. She stopped.
“We were going to talk to you about this. But I wanted to be able to show you the final piece,” Jimbeau said. “We want the audience to consider the emotion – invest in it,” Jimbeau said. “We want people to have to think about it,” added Stacey. “No, you want people to have to think about you.” Devin moved close to Stacey and pointed a finger in her face. Stacey snorted. “You’re one to talk.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “You know what it means,” Stacey said. “Just because I stopped sleeping with you doesn’t mean you have to take it out on my girlfriend.” “Everyone knows you don’t have girlfriends, Devin.” Stacey and Devin continued to bicker. Rebecca slipped out of the kitchen. In her room, she sat at her desk and pulled out a pair of scissors. Methodically, she cut the front page from the newspaper then taped it to the wall beside her bed. Next, she reached under the bed and pulled out a plastic bag filled with unopened mail. Rebecca sorted through the envelopes and boxes. She ignored anything with a Whitehorse postmark, but tore at the other letters and packages, reading notes from religious nutters wanting to save her soul, sexual fetishists, scientists, journalists, Sasquatch investigators. She inspected gifts from sympathetic goth girls and boys. She opened an envelope with the logo of a well-known animal rights organization. A bundle of snapshots dropped out. Rebecca studied the photographs one by one. There was a shot of the Sasquatch Circus tent, and one of police confronting protesters who held signs that read DON’T DEBAUCH THE SASQUATCH! But most of the photographs were of the Lady Sasquatch, stuffed and on display, surrounded by gawkers. Rebecca read the letter and selected one of the pictures of the Lady Sasquatch to display next to the front page of the Reporter.
Then she got up and stripped off her clothes. The hair on her arms and shoulders was matted. Rebecca walked over to the camera. She removed the lens cap and moved into her usual position, remote in hand. She shot six pictures of herself – three from the front, three from behind.
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